early 14c., "performance of labor," from workman + -ship. Meaning "skill as a workman" is from 1520s.
Entries linking to workmanship
workman n.
Old English weorcmsnn; see work (n.) + man (n.). Similar formation in Dutch werkman, Old Norse verkmaðr.
-ship
word-forming element meaning "quality, condition; act, power, skill; office, position; relation between," Middle English -schipe, from Old English -sciepe, Anglian -scip "state, condition of being," from Proto-Germanic *-skepi- (cognates: Old Norse -skapr, Danish -skab, Old Frisian -skip, Dutch -schap, German -schaft), from *skap- "to create, ordain, appoint," from PIE root *(s)kep-, forming words meaning "to cut, scrape, hack" (see shape (v.)). It often forms abstracts to go with corresponding concretes (friend/friendship, etc.).